Forever
by e.v.y.s2
Summary: One Yule ball changed everything Harry saw in his best friend. 4th year is full of surprises, twists, turns... and possibly a little more than friendship for two best friends as powers Harry knows not starts to reveal. 'I'll love you forever' HPHG
1. Prologue

Hey! So I saw Harry Potter the fourth movie again this week and I thought this part of the movie would make a good Harry and Hermione Pairing scene. Spoilers from the movie are seen here.

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me; they all belong to JK Rowling

Title: The Yule Ball

Summary: Harry's eyes tore away from Cho Chang, his mind decided that there was nothing more beautiful, until his eyes caught the top of the stairs, and he was proven wrong by one single person. Hermione.

-

-

-

Ron looked at himself, disgusted at the image the mirror showed him. His maroon dress robes clashed horribly with the white laces, which went horribly with his trademark Weasley hair. He heard the door creak open behind him and saw Harry come out in a plain black dress robe, which went like a soul mate with his messy jet black hair and grassy green eyes.

"Well those are ok. Why can't mum get me those?" Ron wailed in distress, continuing to fidget with the white laces. Harry walked up behind his best friend, and looked sympathetically at the mirror that showed his friend's reflection. What was he suppose to say?

"Come on, the girls are waiting." Harry blurted, dragging out a reluctant Ron as he left.

-

-

"Poor kid, must be crying her eyes out up there." Ron mentioned as he and Harry walked down the stairs to meet the Patil twins.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Hermione!" Ron practically shouted at his best friend, "C'mon mate, you've got to admit it, Hermione hasn't got a date."

"But she said…" Harry trailed off. Ron waved him away impatiently.

"I've asked Lavender, Seamus, Ginny and Neville. She wouldn't tell them who her date is. She probably just said that so she wouldn't look bad, pity." Ron shook his head, sighing.

"Hello Harry, Ron." Parvati said as they got to the bottom of the stairs. Harry said hi, "Don't you look… handsome." Parvati eyed Ron's maroon suit. Ron's face grew a faint red.

"Oh there you are Potter!" said the familiar voice of McGonagall. Harry immediately turned around to see the stern witch approach him. "I hope you and Miss Patil are ready." Harry did a double take,

"Ready? For what?" he said a little too quickly. McGonagall gave him a look,

"To dance of course. It is tradition that the three champions-in this case four, open the ball dancing with their partners." McGonagall said incredulously. "Haven't I told you?"

"No you didn't" Harry stated rather annoyed.

"Well now you know." McGonagall said shortly, starting to move away, her gaze flew towards Ron. "Well, get going Mr Weasley." And she walked off. Harry watched, slightly horrified as Ron walked away with Padma Patil, he saw Padma give her sister a look of doubt as she followed Ron into the Great Hall.

Harry looked around, and found the one person he was looking for. Cho Chang didn't look anything less than perfect. Her black silky hair tied up into an elegant bun, wearing a beige colored silk dress decorated with flowers. He felt a twang of jealousy at how fitting she looked with Cedric Diggory; he failed to notice another figure coming down the stairs. He decided that no one looked as beautiful as her that night.

"Isn't she beautiful." He heard Parvarti gasp, Harry nodded, his eyes still following Cho,

"Yea, she is." He murmured before noticing she was not facing his direction. He turned his gaze up the stairs and landed on another figure.

He felt his breath grow hitched and his heart stopped beating. His hands got clammy and he swore his blood had stopped running, yet his face was turning red. He had decided Cho Chang was the most beautiful person there was, he was proven wrong. His grassy green eyes followed a fancy dressed Hermione down the stairs. He had never seen Hermione dressed this way before and frankly, he had an idea why. Should she dress like this everyday, he swear, every boy in this school would have their bloody eyes on her.

She came down in a beautiful pink colored dress, the neck part dipping low at the front, and the back opened until her waist. Her normally bushy brown hair was known drawn into a bun of messy curls, some fell down by her neck. Her brown eyes shimmered from the candles of the castle, her lips drawn in a smile.

Victor Krum brushed by him, his hand extended towards Hermione. Harry's eyes narrowed as Hermione's small hand touched Krum's and watched him draw it into a kiss. Hermione looped her arms around his offered arms and walked past Harry and Parvati, giving them a smile and a wave, something Harry did not feel like returning.

-

-

"And now, our Tri Wizard Champions will start of the dance!" Dumbledore cried happily, waving his hand towards the four pairs of couples in the middle of the circle. Immediately, tiny Professor Flitwick que the band to start and soon music filled the air.

"Put your hands on my waist." Parvati hissed under her breath. Harry snapped his gaze away from Hermione.

"What?"

"Your hands on my waist!" she hissed louder, pulling his hands and having it placed on her waist. Soon Harry and Parvati were twirling around the hall, blurry images of people passed by Harry's eyes.

-

-

Harry and Ron sat, slumped on the chair by the nearest table, Padma and Parvati Patil sat on either side of them, annoyed.

"Are you ever going to ask me to dance?" Padma asked for the hundredth time that night.

"No." Ron said grumpily. A Dumstrang student came up to Parvati,

'May I have this dance?" he asked charmingly. Parvati glanced at Harry, who was watching Hermione through the crowd,

"You don't mind do you Harry?" she asked. Harry snapped out of his trance,

"What?" he asked, lost, Parvati rolled her eyes,

"Forget it." And she left with the boy. After the dance, they didn't come back. Hermione strolled out from the crowd laughing with Krum. Krum kissed her gently on the hand before going to the beverage table, Hermione stood there, hand on her head, sighing, before wondering to the boys.

"Hot in here, isn't it?" she asked happily at the two. Both Harry and Ron glanced at Hermione. "What's wrong?" she asked. Harry bit his lip, not wanting to ruin 4 years of friendship, Ron thought other wise.

"You! That's what's wrong! How could you come with Krum?" Ron practically yelled. Hermione's blood boiled.

"What?"

"You're fraternizing with the enemy!" Ron yelled back. Hermione's face was flushed red by now.

"The enemy?" Hermione yelled, "Who wanted his autograph with when he first came?" Hermione countered, tears now in her eyes. She stood up, practically running to the front door, Ron followed. Harry decided it wasn't that good of an idea, but seeing the crowd, he regretfully stood up and followed.

"Well you know what the solution is then?" Hermione cried, tears rolling down her eyes.

"Oh yea, what?" Ron challenged. Hermione took a few gulps of air,

"Ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" she screamed, unfortunately, Harry took that moment to interrupt. "Forget it, go to bed, both of you!" she cried. Ron fumed off, muttering darkly under his breath, Harry really wanted to go see Hermione, but seeing Ron, he didn't want to get on his bad side, not when they shared the same dormitory. He followed his best friend up the stairs, ignoring his other one.

-

-

Harry's eyes snapped open, beads of sweat rolling down his head. His heart pounded painfully, another dream tormenting his mind.

"You all right Harry?" Neville asked him, dancing shoes slung around his neck. Harry nodded, his throat dry. "I just got it. Me!" Neville sighed dreamily, humming a dancing tune under his breath, he waltzed away.

Harry's head hit his pillow again, his eyes staring into nothingness. As he was starting to drift back to sleep, a soft sobbing and sniffles floated up the stairs. Grabbing a turtle neck and jeans, and slipping them on, he decided to check it out, half of him not wanted to dream another one of his nightmares.

-

-

Harry came down the stairs to find Hermione at the Gryffindor Common Room. Quietly he walked up from behind her, hoping she had calmed down.

"Hermione?" he asked gently. He saw Hermione immediately rub her tears with her palm, before looking up at him with red eyes, making his throat tighten.

"Oh, Harry, it's you." Hermione said with an unconvincingly light voice. Her breath wavered. "I thought you were all ready asleep." Harry sat down next to her, he gave a light chuckle,

"Yea, I was, I got woken up, that's all." He replied softly, his hand unconsciously going to his scar. Hermione looked at her best friend sadly,

"It's your scar isn't it? You've had that dream again haven't you?" Hermione spoke gently, taking the hand Harry had on his scar into her own. Harry nodded. Sometimes, he was amazed at how Hermione was able to read him so clearly. She had been able to ever since he had first met her and became friends with her after the troll incident in their first year. Maybe that's why he felt such a connection to her, a connection he never had with Ron no matter how many common interests they shore.

"I can't close my eyes without seeing it again." Harry finally said quietly, not facing her. He couldn't help but feel the comfortable weight of Hermione's small warm hands in his.

"I'm sorry Harry." Hermione suddenly said. "Ron and I, we were acting like such children, and then I lashed out on you for no reason. It's just; we don't know how it feels like, to be you." Harry's thumb unconsciously made lazy circles on Hermione's hands.

"It's ok… you guys bring some excitement to my life." Harry joked, lightening up the tension. Hermione laughed, feeling much better.

"Thank you Harry." She said sincerely, Harry watched her tug on the red high heels she wore with her dress uncomfortably, "I swear nothing is worth wearing these horrid shoes." She said a while later, taking then off. Harry chuckled. As Hermione bent down to remove her shoes, a clip from her brown hair fell down.

"Oh." She gasped, reaching down to get it. At the same time, Harry bent down, wanting to help her retrieve it, their hands touched. Both blushing slightly, they raised their head at the same time, and their foreheads touched. Her glossy brown eyes met his grassy green ones. They gazed into one another, and slowly they drew closer, their nose touched.

"Sorry." Harry breathed out softly, his warm breath caressing her cheeks. Still they moved closer, "I-"

""Don't" Hermione interrupted him, her eyes fluttered shut. Slowly, their lips met, and the connection they both had with one another before grew stronger still as time went by. Harry's strong arms wrapped around Hermione's small waist, drawing her and the gown's material towards him as their friendship grew towards another level.

A sudden rustle from the stairs made them break apart immediately, face both flushed. Hermione tried to move away, only to find a pair of arms that linked with Harry's body around her. Face red, she rose up to find a genuine smile, a smile she hadn't seen since the nightmare started, on his face. She let out a nervous giggle, which turned into a quiet and nervous laugh. Soon, Harry chuckled with her, until both were out of breath, and Hermione's head was leaning against Harry's forehead.

"I think… I should go up." Hermione said breathlessly after a minute or silence went by. Harry nodded, gently kissing Hermione on the tip of her nose,

"Yea, I think I should." He replied both standing up. They moved towards the opposite side, the two hands the connected them slowly slid apart and the two disappeared up the stairs.

-

-

Harry fell onto his bed, the cool bed sheets felt pleasant against his flaming skin. He glanced at his red headed best friend, finding him to be still asleep. He snuggled deeper under his covers, his eyes closed. And for once that year, a smile lit his face.

Unknown to Harry, in the Girl's Dormitory, a bushy brunette did the same thing, a content smile lit up her face.

-

-

-

A/N: Ok, crappy one shot for HP but hey, I thought it was cute… ha, ha, anyways, it might take a while for "I never knew" to update, please be patient. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright so after much consideration and people's reviews-not that re watching HP 4 again didn't help- I've decided to continue on the one shot of Harry and Hermione after the Yule Ball. So the title of the story and summary might change, but of course it features our favourite couple, and with that said, the tasks may change a bit. I am most definitely considering a sequel for this after to follow up with the books, only change is the fact Harry and Hermione are indeed going out. With all this said, enjoy chapter two of my first Harry Potter story.

-

-

-

For once, in all of Harry's years, he fell asleep in his bed, falling into a dreamless slumber, only the feeling of a brown eyed brunette swimming in his mind.

-

-

-

_Chapter 2: Changes_

The bright yellow sun peeped up from above the mountains, spreading golden warmth across the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The golden rays hit the floating ship of Dumstrang that sat upon the black lake, the Beauxbatons carriage sat patiently by the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid could be seen tending to the horses, helping them drink their single malt whisky.

Harry stirred sleepily from under the red sheets in the Gryffindor common room. Since the ball had lasted well pass midnight, the students of Hogwarts, Dumstrang and Beauxbatons had been allowed to take one day off, to get over their exciting night.

"Harry! C'mon mate wake up or Hermione'll have our heads!" Ron's distant voice drifted towards Harry's ears. Actually, all he heard was the name Hermione, which was enough to send him bolting up from his bed.

Bewildered, and slightly disoriented, he groped around his night table, finally touching the thin frame of his glasses.

"Hermione?" were Harry's immediate first words; he looked around the dormitory in frenzy. His hair was in more of a mess than it normally was.

"Whoa, calm down Harry. She's downstairs, and I'm not going back down empty handed. Bloody hell she gets scary." Ron shook his head, "hurry up, I don't need her coming up here again."

-

-

-

10 minutes later, Harry and Ron emerged from the boy's dormitory; Harry's hair still looked slightly ruffled no matter how many products he placed on it.

"Finally, Merlin you think you needed to find your body parts!" came Hermione's annoyed voice from the fire place.

Hermione's brown eyes landed on Harry's being and immediately her eyes sparked to life. Her heart pounded, sending nervous chills down her spine. Harry seemed to be radiating some sort of pull to her she had never noticed before. Well she noticed now. The jet black hair she got use to seeing everyday for the past 4 years now seemed to add a sexy appeal to Harry. How she fought the urge to run her hands through his black locks. He had long grown out of his childish features like those during their second year. His body seemed to fill out his blue turtle neck and dark blue jeans, all the days at Quidditch practices finally paying off.

Harry's throat got caught as he saw the glowing image of perfection by the couch, and as if to complete the image of perfection, Hermione had her slender arms around her all time, favourite book "Hogwarts: A History". Unlike the way she dressed at the ball last night, today she settled for a normal periwinkle blue t-shirt, topped with a denim jacket, finished by a pair of smooth jeans and a pair of white sneakers.

"It's not my fault. Harry won't wake up long enough to listen to what I had to say." Ron countered, breaking both Harry and Hermione from their trance at staring one another. Hermione felt her cheeks heat up and redden, half embarrassed she was staring at her best friend like that, and half shy because of the way Harry returned her look.

Harry felt his neck get hot from under his turtle neck. He felt the urge to just run up to Hermione and snog her senseless, right there, right here, right now, right in front of Ron. Feeling an awkward moment between the trios, Hermione decided to break the silence.

"Harry, your hair, can't you do anything to it." Was the first thing she was able to think of, since he had walked into the room, she had nothing but the desire and the urge to run her fingers through it.

"My hair," Harry asked, his hand automatically running through it in instinct. Hermione wished he hadn't done that.

"Yes your hair Harry." Hermione repeated, bringing herself closer to him. She ran her fingers across it, under the pretence of hoping to tame it, yet in truth, she found it oddly attractive, the way his hair stuck up in odd angles, some falling down covering his grassy eyes.

Harry felt goose bumps down his neck as Hermione's soft fingers ran through his head. He wanted to grab her hand and hold it tightly against his own; he wanted to feel the way her small hands would fit just perfectly with his.

Ron looked suspiciously between the action of his two friends, he felt left out, as if a secret had been told and he wasn't part of it. He didn't like the feeling, having been with the two of them ever since his first year at Hogwarts.

"I don't think anything will help it 'Mione. It's traditional Potter hair." Harry spoke after a moments silent, half saying this so he could get himself under control, and the other half wanting to share an inside joke with Ron. Ron was his best mate, and he didn't want to make him feel left out. Yet he somehow, he enjoyed the pleasant tingle, her nickname just slipping out so easily.

Ron chuckle slightly when Harry said that, finally feeling like the same trio they were for the past 4 years. Hermione let her hand down; giving a smile that clearly said 'I give up'.

"I suppose so. Merlin I'd like to know how your father handled a mess like that everyday." Hermione spoke, shaking her brunette head as she went along. Ron and Harry chuckled, following their female friend out the portrait hole.

"Let's go Harry; we'll be lucky if lunch isn't over yet." Ron called, immediately dashing in front of the two, the chatters of their classmates and guests from the great hall floated towards them. As soon as the red haired Weasley disappeared through the door, Harry and Hermione let out a sigh.

Hermione turned towards him, soft smile lighting up her face, a smile Harry couldn't help but return. They linked their hands together and Harry, for the first time since last night, drew her into a hug, having Hermione bury her head in the crook of his neck.

"Merlin I've been waiting to do this all morning." Harry said after a full minute of silence. He placed his lips softly on the soft brown curls on her head, he heard Hermione sigh into his neck.

"I don't know if I can last any longer Harry." He heard Hermione mumble into his shoulders. He gently pried her off him, then slid his arms around his waist and touched his forehead against hers. Her cinnamon brown eyes stared back at his grassy green ones. He could feel her warm moist breath against his cheeks. "I hate lying to Ron and keeping things from him, but I don't know how he'll feel towards our relationship."

"Ron hates being left out." Harry agreed with her. He gently kissed the tip of her nose. "We'll get through this, we always have. This is just another one of Hagrid's fluffy dog, or another snake, or another illegal time travel," Harry smiled, Hermione giggled,

"Or another dragon, another golden egg, and another arguing match at the grate hall during the best ball that ever happened in Hogwarts." Hermione finished, her face beaming.

"Exactly, we'll get through this 'Mione, we always did." Harry spoke softly, taking a strand of her curls and placing it behind her ear. Hermione smiled, and couldn't help but blush at the soft gesture he made. Yes, they'll make it through, together, they will.

"Well, let's get going before Ron decides to eat our lunch." Hermione said brightly, grabbing his hand along the way. Harry smiled the chuckled, allowing Hermione to pull him into the great hall.

For once, Harry didn't mind being centre of attention.

-

-

-

The next few days were one of the most enjoyable days Harry had had since the first time he stepped foot into Hogwarts. He had most if not all of his classes with Ron and Hermione, with the exception of Divination, if only he did not have to walk around the halls of Hogwarts without at least one person looking at him as though he was walking when he was supposed to be dead. With the second task coming up so close-February 24th seemed a lot closer now that Christmas was over- tension was once again thick among the students of Hogwarts, and once again, the 4 champions of the Tri-Wizard Tournament became stressed, more so than before.

One gloomy day, when Ron had decided to go and visit Hagrid, Hermione and Harry were spending precious little time together upon the bridge. Hermione stayed warm and secured inside Harry's embrace, as his body covered hers, her back leaning against his muscular chest as they watched the squid flicker its tentacles lazily above the water of the lake. It was peaceful until they reached the topic of the upcoming task.

"Harry, you told me you had the egg figured out weeks ago. The task is two days away and we haven't a clue to what to do!" Hermione exclaimed, she felt Harry's heart beat double its rate against her back. Harry sighed, moving away from Hermione and bringing himself next to her.

"Really Hermione, I haven't noticed." Harry responded dryly, not looking at her. Hermione studied his face carefully, and her expression softened.

"You're not trying to figure this out, are you?" she asked softly, placing her hand above his. Harry glanced at her,

"What does that mean?" he asked. Hermione sighed, watching him remove his gaze from her.

"Harry, these tasks are designed to test you in so many way it's almost cruel." Hermione started. Harry still didn't look at her, sighing in frustration, Hermione stride towards the other side of him. "Harry, I'm scared for you."

Harry drew her into a hug, and the two stayed silent for a while. Harry rested his head against Hermione's shoulder, feeling her warm hands brush against his hair.

"Hermione, I promise you, I'll do this, I will try but I've got to have time. I can't do this, I'm not ready." Harry spoke softly. Never had Hermione heard such vulnerability in his voice, and she had to admit, it sort of scared her. She had always seen the strong side of him, rock solid, and the leader side. But now, at this stage of the game, Harry was slowly breaking down, and his vulnerable side was ready to be seen by the world.

"Promise me Harry, be careful." She whispered, her head on his chest, feeling the steady drumming of his heart.

"Hey, Potter!" a voice called. The two immediately broke apart, and Cedric Diggory walked towards them, his flank of friends waiting further away. Hermione broke away, giving his hand an assuring squeeze before picking up her bag and left. Harry walked towards him,

"Cedric." He said politely. The prefect looked down at him,

"Harry, I meant to thank you for your tip, with out you telling me, I would've never made it pass the dragons." Cedric began. Harry waved it off, the heaviness of the conversation he had with Hermione still weighing down on him.

"It's no problem, I'm sure you would've done the same for me." Harry spoke.

"Exactly." Cedric interrupted him, "your egg, does it wail when you open it?" Cedric asked in an even quieter voice. Harry looked at him, "you know the prefect's bathroom, just… go up there… bring your egg with you and… wash things over." Cedric smiled at him, before walking off. Harry looked at the retreating back of the 7th year. Was he joking?

-

-

-

"Mental… completely mental." Harry muttered to himself as he walked alone towards the prefect bathroom under his cloak, the Maurauder's Map in one hand, the golden egg in the other. He stopped and took a glance at the map. Dumbledore was pacing around his circled office. Filch was on the third floor and Mrs Norris was by the dungeon. He found his own name 'Harry Potter' marked standing still in the corridor of the 5th level, and used his wand to trace a way towards the prefect washroom, the way was clear.

Maybe it was because the task was in 2 days, maybe it was because his fear of getting caught at this time of night had increased, or maybe it was because if he was caught, the lecturing he'd get from Hermione would be beyond scary, but Harry found himself speed walking towards the prefect's bathroom.

Once in, he pointed his wand towards the tap, and one by one, they opened, each pouring out different colour water, with different scents. Harry immediately found that the washroom would be one major reason to become a prefect. Taking off his robe and sinking into the water, he allowed the hot water to wash over his skin, sinking his head into the water, enjoying the effect on him. As he floated back up for air, he realized…

He wasn't alone.

-

-

-

A/N: so… how is it for a second chapter? Please review?


	3. Chapter 3

Oh wow I can't believe you guys wanted me to continue my Harry Potter story. Thank you for reviewing. This is in all honestly my first time writing a Harry Potter story and I absolutely adore Harry and Hermione ships. So if you guys know any good ones, let me know, k? I'm trying to follow the movie line as accurate as possible, but if there is a sequel to this story, then it'll most likely differ from the real 5th book by JK Rowling.

-

-

-

Harry's head bobbed on the surface of the water when he realized he was not alone in the prefect's bathroom.

"Hello Harry."

-

-

-

_Chapter 3: Second Task_

-

-

-

"Mrytle," Harry gasped, all the while accidentally drinking in some tap water and bubbles, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not only confined in just the U bend Harry. I can go to other places too." Mrytle replied, a flirty grin drifting onto her transparent face. "It's not the first time I've been in here. I was here when that other boy was here too, with the same egg, the handsome one. Cedric," Mrytle giggled.

Harry moved closer towards the edge of the tub, pulling in as much bubbles as he could find to cover him self… lack of. He grabbed his egg.

"Cedric was here?" he asked.

"Oh yes." Mrytle smiled, all the while floating closer to Harry. "He was here for hours; almost all… the bubbles… were gone." She giggled slowly, flying up then plunging into the water without making a splash. Harry took a quick intake of breath as Mrytle's head popped up a few feet in front of him.

"You mean you watch people… shower?" Harry spoke cautiously, moving further still.

"Well I've never actually came out before." Mrytle shrugged. Harry looked at her,

"I'm honoured." Harry muttered darkly, "so what did Cedric do I mean his egg must've wailed." Harry continued.

"Oh I'd try putting it under the water Harry." Mrytle gave a flirty giggle, clearly enjoying ordering Harry around. Harry took a deep breath, took on glance at Mrytle and sunk his head in, opening his golden egg.

He expected to hear the wail that shook his body with shivers, yet that was not what he met when his ear had plunged down with him. No, what he heard were voices, the smooth, lyrical voice of a woman.

_Come seek us where our voices sound_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sourly miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_To recover what we took,_

_But past an hour—the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

Harry's head shot back up from under the water. His mouth gapped open taking in ragged breath, his black hear matted against his forehead.

"Mrytle, there aren't… aren't merpeople there, are there?" Harry asked uncertain for himself. Mrytle gave him a smirk,

"Oh very good, it took Cedric forever to think of it, and that's with little miss perfect over there, flashing her tail, giggling and winking." She threw an ugly glare at the snoring mermaid on the window.

"Well, it's nice seeing you… Mrytle, I've got to go, err… Hermione's waiting for me." He blurted out. Her name was the first one he could think off, and felt a warm tickle in his body as her name slipped out of his mouth. He was pretty surprise at his reaction just by her name.

_Potter you are in it deep._ Harry thought to himself. At Hermione's name, Mrytle gave a look that suggested she had swallowed something terribly bitter.

"Well Harry, I'll see you around." Mrytle said… more like sneered. But she did give him a wink, a giggle before making a huge splash around the toilet area she plunged into. Harry shook his head, wrapping the towel tightly around his waist.

"Girls…"

-

-

-

The next day Harry woke up to a bright Saturday morning. He had enough consciousness to hear Ron telling him he just couldn't wait for Harry as there was a roasted chicken in the Great Hall calling for him. Harry chuckled at his friend, trying to find his glasses by his table. He felt a pair of warm hands touching his, mean while handing him his glasses. Not thinking clearly, he took it appreciatively,

"Thanks Hermione." Harry said absentmindedly, he thought about what he said for a while, "Hermione!" he exclaimed quickly doing a double take, falling painfully onto his arse to the floor.

Hermione giggled, seeing his cute expression, his messy hair in the morning.

"Morning Harry," Hermione said pleasantly as Harry heaved himself off the floor.

"Merlin Hermione, I-you-we-you scared the hell out of me." Harry finally managed to stutter out. Hermione giggled, pulling her boyfriend off the ground.

"Yes I can tell. Let's try again, shall we?" Hermione smiled sweetly, she gave him a short peck on the cheek, then a longer peck on the lips, "good morning Harry." She repeated herself, feeling Harry's arm go around her waist.

"Hmm if that's the welcome I'm going to get just by falling on to the floor, I'd fall more often." Harry teased, brushing the tip of his nose to hers, and then gently kissing the slope of it, "Good morning 'Mione."

Hermione's chocolate brown eyes looked disoriented, slowly disappearing behind her closing eyelids.

"Hmm… what?" Hermione said a few moments later, snapping out of her trance, the daydream she had floated of too, with nothing but the feel of Harry's lips against hers.

"I can't believe I'll live to see this day, Hermione Granger, stunned, and unable to speak. Merlin the world is ending!" Harry teased, loving the way her cheeks would flush, her lips drawn into a cute pout.

"Git," Hermione muttered under her breath, yet at the same time a soft smile drawing on her face, "for your information, Harry James Potter, I thought it would be time you came down and had lunch, then go to the library to see what we're going to do about that egg of yours. Someone's got to push you to figure out that song." Hermione said in a matter of fact voice. Harry nodded, before doing a double take,

"Wait, I didn't say anything about a song." Harry stuttered.

"Honestly Harry. You don't need an invisibility cloak to stay hidden in the common room. And besides, I figured it would've been merpeople, I did some light reading last night." And she took out a thick, black leather book from her bag, and dropped it onto his bed. He swore he felt the bed bend slightly at the weight.

"Light," Harry asked sceptically, "Bloody hell Hermione, this book has got to be thicker than my skull." Harry joked, fingering the aged book. "Merlin if I knew you'd find out I wouldn't have to go to the prefect's bathroom to see Mrytle."

"Mrytle," Hermione caught quickly. Harry shook his head, before smiling at Hermione, the twinkle in his jade eyes sparked at her, the twinkle he only reserved for her,

"Yes Mrytle, you've got competition." He teased. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, stepping up and stomping out of the Dormitory, Harry ran quickly into the bathroom, washed up and threw on some clothes and 5 minutes later saw Hermione curled up in an armchair.

"You definitely take a shorter time than Ron." She said, walking out with him. Harry smiled proudly.

He slipped his hand into hers halfway to the Great Hall.

-

-

-

It was well passed 10:00pm, almost reaching 11:30, yet Harry and Ron found they were doing something they never thought they, in their whole career in Hogwarts, would do. The trio sat in a corner of the library, a dozen books surrounding them, thick, thin, small, big, books that squeaked and books that screamed. Harry's second task was coming within a matter of hours, and they still had not been able to figure out how in hell Harry would be able to stop breathing for an hour.

Harry laid his chin against a thick black book, sketches lying around him. He tried hard to filter out the sound of Ron's snore, tempted to snore himself.

"Ok Harry, tell me what the song said again." Hermione instructed in for Merlin knows how many times that night.

"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground." Harry chanted monotonously, having the song drilled into his brain to last his life time, that is, if he had one by the end of the tournament.

"The black lake, that was obvious." Hermione muttered more to herself.

"And while you're searching ponder this; we've taken what you'll sourly miss." Harry continued his eyes hurting. Hell he had no idea how Hermione was able to keep this up.

"Again obvious," Hermione said, even her voice showed she was getting annoyed and tired.

"An hour long you'll have to look, to recover what we took." Harry chanted.

"Again obvious though slightly problematic," Hermione groaned, rubbing her fingers between her eyes. Harry raised his head,

"Problematic? When have you ever held your breath for an hour 'Mione," Harry asked in an incredulous voice, Hermione gave a tired sigh, and took a glance at Ron, she knew Hogwarts could crumble, fall, be attacked and flooded, and he will continue to sleep, she slide herself close to Harry. He opened his arms for her, allowing her to sit on his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"We can do this Harry. I know we can," Hermione spoke in a soothing voice. Harry dipped his head into the crook of her neck, feeling Hermione take one of her hand away from his arm and felt it rake against his hair. "Harry, you got through the first task purely on nerves, I don't know if that's enough for this one." Harry sighed, breathing in a scent that was purely Hermione. The smell of warm cinnamon and her strawberry shampoo from her curls.

"I'm not ready for this." Harry mumbled, raising his head, Hermione turning around to face him. Her small hands gripped the side of his face, forcing his green eyes to bore into her cinnamon ones.

"You aren't Harry, and you being thrown into these brutal tasks are totally unfair. But you've got me, Dumbledore, Sirius, Ron, and the rest of the Gryffindor house supporting you. And even if you feel as though you are alone you aren't because no matter what I will be with you, no matter how much danger you are in." Hermione spoke in a soft, passionate voice.

The candle inside their lamp started to dim, and fade into nothingness but the two didn't notice.

Harry covered the hands on his cheek with his, and pulled her into a kiss they hadn't had since yesterday. It was slow, passionate and Harry's way of asking for protection, security. His hands left hers as her hands wrapped itself around his neck. Harry's hand fell on her cheek, his thumb gently outlining the features of her face, before resting behind her neck. One hand massaged the back of her neck, twirling brown curls around its fingers, the other hand slide down her back, resting in the middle.

Their kisses had never gone too far. A few kisses on the cheeks, long kisses on the lips, never further, yet with the tension, the stress that fell upon the pair, their relation increased another level.

Harry gently nipped the bottom of her lip, his tongue gently touching her upper lip, silently asking for permission. He drew a quick intake of breath, feeling her mouth open, sliding his tongue gently inside.

Hermione shivered as his tongue brushed against hers. She had never felt such a sensation, never had she felt so happy. Not when she got her Hogwarts letter, not when she was able to perform the spell before anyone else good. The warmth that seeped into her very being was enough to last her a lifetime. She had never been so intimate, so close to someone before. Her first kiss was stolen by her best friend one night after a Christmas ball. Now, they took the kiss into another level.

Inexperienced, the two worked together, their kisses melted into one, their tongue dancing to a song purely their own. When air became a vital matter, the two slowly broke apart, their eyes opening, taking deep ragged breath. Harry placed small and short kisses on her lips.

"That was," he said in between kisses.

"Amazing," Hermione finished, she held his face to hers for a few more seconds before breaking apart, foreheads touching.

"I love you Hermione Jane Granger." Harry muttered softly, a glow of warmth in his heart. Hermione looked as though she would cry, yet the glow seemed to seep into her own body,

"And I love you Harry James Potter." She responded emotionally. The two felt as though a connection formed between them, a connection nothing will be able to break. As though by a force, the dimmed candle burst out in orange flame, burning fiercer, hotter, and larger than ever. The sudden roar made both of them jump slightly, amazed at how the first suddenly burst to life, as though celebrating their love for one another.

"Potter!" a rough and harsh voice said from behind the bookcases. Hermione leaped apart, standing next to Harry. The rough voice awoke Ron from his sleep, making him look sleepily around at his two friends, who were currently tinted red. Moody limped out.

"Professor McGonagall would like to see you." He growled to them. Harry made a move to get up, "no not you Potter, Granger and Weasley." He stopped him. Both Hermione and Ron looked up.

"But sir, the task is only hours away and--" Hermione protested,

"Yes, and I'm sure Mr Potter knows exactly what he's doing and will need a nice descent rest before tomorrow." He interrupted her. "Now!" he snapped, walking away. Ron looked confused and slightly scared as he followed Moody. Hermione gave Harry a scared yet assuring look.

"Longbottom, help Potter put his books back." Came Moody's growl. Neville came out behind a bunch of floating books that were placing themselves in alphabetical orders; he saw some group of books placing themselves according to number of pages.

"Thanks Neville." Harry said tiredly, taking his sketches off the books and closing them. Neville smiled, taking the books and adding them into the pile,

"You know Harry, if you're interested in Plants, there's a Russian wizard who invented a turnip that can cure almost any disease?" Neville said excitedly, happy to be talking about his favourite and best subject.

"No offence Neville, but I am really not interested in plants right now." Harry said in a thin voice. A small 'oh' escaped from Neville's downcast face, "Now, if there was a… Tibetan turnips that can help me breathe underwater for one hour, than great…" Harry muttered to himself, half thinking he was probably nuts.

"Well I'm not sure about turnips," Neville said slowly, "but you can always use Gillyweed."

-

-

-

That morning, the students of Hogwarts, the girls of Beauxbatons and the boys of Dumstrang set out towards the black lake where a dozen enchanted boats were to carry them to where the second task would be held.

Harry and Neville walked down the path towards the dock where Harry would take a boat and meet with the other champions. His eyes scanned nervously around for Ron, most importantly for Hermione. He had not seen them since they had left the library last night and couldn't help but feel a tinge of worry. Clad in black sweatpants and a sweater with the colours of black and red, the Gryffindor symbol in a position that showed its might roar, Harry's muscles were tense, his lips set in a grip position.

"Are you sure this will work?" Harry muttered as he and Neville came nearer to the dock, feeling Neville stuff a bunch of gooey looking worms into his palm.

"Positive, it should last an hour… though I think I read somewhere about side affects…" Neville trailed off.

"You tell me now?" Harry snapped through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong Harry, you seem tense." Neville commented as they walked down the dock. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes,

"Do I?" Harry retorted, still looking around, "Where's Ron and Hermione?" he asked mostly to himself.

"I don't know Harry, but it can wait, you'll be late if you don't get going." Neville said.

-

-

-

Harry, Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor all stood upon a square dock. Harry looked down at the black lake, not even seeing pass the ripples of the water as it reflected back hundreds of faces of the students from the school.

"Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to the Second Task of the Tri-Wizard tournament." Boomed Dumbledore, "Last night, something precious to the champions were stolen from them and now, they lay at the bottom of the lake. The champions have exactly one hour to get their treasures and return. At the sound of the cannon, the timer will begin."

Harry removed his sweat pants and jacket, his heart pounding in his chest. He glanced sideways, seeing Fleur, as the only girl, emerges wearing a silver swimsuit, her wand in her hand. Viktor and Cedric both showed up, Cedric clad in black and yellow, Viktor in red, Moody came up beside Harry.

"Put it in your mouth." He muttered in the corner of his lips. Looking up at him, Harry immediately stuffed the worm like herb into his mouth, chewing hard, the rubbery feeling harsh against his mouth.

**BOOM**

"GO!" Dumbledore roared.

3 of the 4 champions dove into the black lake in unison. Harry stayed upon the dock, feeling suddenly dizzy and choked. He couldn't breathe, his head was spinning, and his nose was blocked as though a pillow was placed above his head. He twisted and turned his neck hurting as though something sharp was poking its way out of his skin. A push from Moody, and Harry fell clumsily into the water.

He fell deeper; the surface of the water faded away, the glittering sun the only source of light. He struggled, yet he still could not breathe. His hands and feet felt weird, as though they were connected. Taking a look, he let out a gasp, drawing breath at the same time.

His hands were webbed. His feet were flippers. He looked amazed, studying himself, his fingers felt the rough gills that had erupted on his neck, with the sudden speed and agility like on land, and he swam off, now with confidence to find the thing stolen from him.

As he swam deeper, the light from the sun started to fade, leaving him in the darkness of the lake. How long he swam Harry did not know, but soon, he heard the same melodic voice, words he could not make out drew him towards his right. Somehow, somewhere, he felt in his heart, a tug towards them. It was as if he could feel someone, someone special, some like Hermione.

No sooner had he swam for a few minutes, did he see 4 dark something hanging upon a high reef. Swimming with all his might, he saw four people tied to a rock, bubbles floated out their nose, their eyes shut, and their skin ghastly pale, tinted green by the water. He looked at them, recognizing 3 of the 4 captured.

Cho Chang.

Ronal Weasley.

A blond little girl, probably Fleur's sister. The last person made his heart tug in pain, his throat hitched, and his heart stop.

Hermione…

-

-

-

A/N: Whoo… another chapter done. Review please?


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again! I'm sorry for my lack of updating, as I said in my other story, things started to pop up and well, life gets in the way. Thanks for hanging on, and here's another chapter.

-

-

-

_Chapter 4: A bond like no other_

-

-

-

_Hermione…_

There were merpeople all around him but he ignored them. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Why would she be here? He looked at her peaceful face, tissues of bubbles flew out of her mouth, and he felt a sense of relief, at least knowing that she was breathing, he didn't know how, but he didn't care. All that matters was getting her out of there. But at the corner of his eyes, he watched Ron float up and down in the water, tied to the same rock as the other three and felt guilt pulling at him.

He knew, the moment he saw Ron in the water, _he_ was the one Harry was supposed to save, not Hermione, not Cho, but Ron. Ron was his best friend; they were as close as brothers. Yet, Harry couldn't let go of the fact that he did care more for Hermione than him. Harry swam slowly towards Hermione's sleeping face, his own face mere inches away from hers. Slowly, he lowered his face, and gave her a kiss on her slack lip.

"_Hermione, I have to save Ron, he's the one that was taken from me, I love you."_ Harry thought deeply, partly jealous that Hermione was someone else's 'deeply treasured' possession.

"_Harry? I hear you… but-but I can't see anything. Harry where are you?"_ Hermione's voice filled his mind. He turned around, and he swore he saw Hermione's body give a small twitch, her eyebrows were twitching. Suddenly, the merpeople around him scattered into fearful crowds, and Harry turned in time to swim out of the way, a badly transformed shark swan quickly towards him. With one giant snap of his teeth, who Harry could only assume to be Krum, managed to break Hermione free, and swam away, Hermione floating further and further away.

Jealous started to rise inside of him, unhappy that it was Krum of all people to have saved her. Shaking his head, he pulled out his wand, and half heartedly, mumbled a spell, a shot of yellow orb shot from his wand and onto the chain that tied Ron to the rocks.

"_Now is not the time to be jealous Harry! Get Ron and get out"_ His mind scolded at him. Harry grabbed hold of Ron the same time Cedric came swimming in, a bubble head charm around his face. He cut free Cho, stared at Harry meaningfully, tapping his wrist, before swimming up to Cho. Harry understood what he meant, but his eyes lay on the last abandoned prisoner.

Fleur's sister. Harry waited for an extra five minutes, hoping to see some of Fleur's brilliant silver hair swaying towards her, but five minutes went and passed, and there was still no sign of Fleur what so ever. Time was running out, and if he didn't act soon, the gillyweed will soon be used up, and he had metres upon metres of water to swim. Using the same spell he used with Ron, he cut the chain, and grabbing the little girl, swam up towards the surface.

It was a slow journey, the weight of two people hanging on him was weighing him down, his feet felt tired, as they were the only things that were currently propelling him upwards, and his hands currently busy holding the two captives. His eyes started to get blurry, stinging with the water he hadn't felt because of the gillyweed. He suddenly noticed how wet the water was around him, and as he tried to draw breath, felt some water entering his lungs, he forced himself not to cough. He could see the light from above the surface slowly coming to view, but he didn't know how he was going to make it up with both of them. He forced all of his energy and pushed the two up, relieved to see the water slowly carrying them upwards, and saw in time the two of them burst above the surface.

Harry's vision was slowly fading in and out, his oxygen starved brain begged to have oxygen but Harry couldn't, he could feel the world swirl around him in an array of colours…

"_Harry! Oh no Harry! Where are you? Oh Merlin please Harry come back!"_ Hermione's shrill voice shrieked inside his mind. He felt so weak and tired, but her voice made him open his eyes, and saw the sun reflect above him, he had to do this, for Hermione. With one last ditch of effort, he shot a spell and instantly propelled himself out of the water. The first thing he heard was the crowd cheering mercilessly.

Harry coughed violently, water spilling out of his mouth, shivering as the cold wind hit his damp body.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, practically jumping down the stairs and onto the stage where he was on. She took the blue towel she was wrapped in and wrapped it around his shivering body, drawing him into a hug in the process. "Harry! Thank Merlin you're alright. When Ron and Fleur's sister showed up and you didn't I was so worried I was so scared you didn't make it." Her voice sounded shaky, and Harry saw she was fighting back tears.

"Hey, it's not that e-easy getting r-rid of m-m-me." Harry joked shakily, still shivering. Hermione gave a shaky laugh. But Harry felt disappointed, he had, for sure finished last. Hermione seemed to have read his mind,

"You didn't finish last Harry." She smiled at him, she looked over to Fleur's direction, who was currently fussing over little Gabriella, her sister, she was talking quickly in French, "Fleur never made it pass the Grindylows." Harry gave a shaky smile.

"A meeting with the Judges please," Dumbledore's voice rang over the stadium. Hermione helped Harry up, and rubbed his arm gently, warming him up.

"I was so worried about you." Hermione whispered beside him, "I-I thought you wouldn't figure it out. I was so scared when Professor McGonagall called us down." She leaned her head on his shoulder. Harry felt comfortable warmth from inside him, enjoying the soft weight of Hermione's head on his shoulder.

"How's Ron?" Harry asked, kissing Hermione softly on the head.

"I don't know; want to ask him how he feels when he finds his two best friends lying to him?" an angry voice side from in front of them. The two of them separated, spinning around so fast Harry felt the world spin again. Ron stood behind them, his freckled face as red as his matted Weasley hair, the towel around him wrapped tightly around him secured by a tight fist.

"Ron!" Hermione squeaked, taking her hand out of Harry's, which, until now, she didn't realize Harry had held. "It's not what it looks like, I…" she trailed off; Ron gazed angrily at his best friends, looking from her to Harry, expecting an answer from either of them.

"We wanted to tell you Ron, we did, really." Harry said quickly, "it's just that, well with the tasks and everything happening we couldn't find the time." Ron gave them a sceptical look,

"When did this start?" he asked. Harry and Hermione looked at one another worriedly,

"The Yule Ball," Hermione said in a small voice. Ron's blue eyes fired up,

"Yes and between the two weeks from the Yule Ball till now you couldn't find the time to tell me?" He roared angrily, taking a step close to Hermione, his face looked murderous, and Hermione took a step back.

"Ron calm down!" Harry yelled, stepping in between them, his towel had fell off, and he was only in a red track suit Madam Pomfrey had thrown on him as soon as he got out of the water. He spread his arms out, shielding Hermione from Ron's gaze. His icy blue eyes met with Harry's determined grassy green ones.

"So you're siding with her?" Ron spat angrily, hurt that his best friends would keep something from him. Harry walked up to Ron, almost as tall as the red head, his green eyes burning angrily,

"I'm not siding with anyone, but you're wrong thinking Hermione tried to hide this from you." Harry said as coldly as Ron,

"You knew I liked her." Ron growled quietly, his fist balled to his sides, "You knew."

"You said you liked her, now you're acting like you're in love with her!" Harry replied back. Ron shook his head, looking at the both of them with disgust etched in his face,

"You always get everything." Ron spat bitterly, "Harry Potter is famous, Harry Potter, youngest champion in the history, Harry Potter, the boy who lived, Harry Potter, the Hero. Well guess what, I'm sick of it." And with that Ron walked away from the best friends he had since his first year at Hogwarts. Harry turned, his face still angry, yet he felt sad when he watched his friend walk away. He looked up to see tears run down Hermione's eyes, and tilted her chin upwards,

"He'll come through, don't worry." Harry assured her, though he felt himself slightly doubting. Ron had a thick skull; it would take him a while.

After that neither of the two felt too into the game. Dumbledore had a talk with the merpeople who were down there when the Champions went to get their prisoners. Cedric, of course was the first one that had arrived with Cho, making his first place of the event. To Harry's surprise, he had gotten second, even though he was last and well out of time. They had called it 'moral fibber' at his strong urge to rescue the other hostages, not minding his own safety. Krum came in third and was lastly followed by Fleur.

As Harry and Hermione walked back up to the school after the boats had taken them to shore, they were the last to walk up, taking their slow time up the trail to Hogwarts.

"Harry, at the lake, I mean in it… I, well this is stupid." Hermione blushed, leaving her sentence unfinished. Harry grinned at her amusedly, taking her hand in his,

"Come on, something stupid said by Hermione Granger? This is something I've got to hear." Harry laughed, which earned him a short slap from her,

"What I mean to say is, at the lake, I thought I heard you talking to me." Hermione explained, "But I don't get it, I mean, McGonagall performed the charm, we were supposed to be asleep, but… I heard you so clearly, I think I even replied you." She gave a short laugh, "stupid isn't it?" Harry shook his head.

"No, actually I did talk to you." Hermione looked at him, surprised, "well not talked, but like _think_ to you. I told you I wanted to rescue you, but Ron was here because of me. I said I loved you." He blushed "and when I was going to Ron, I clearly heard you asking where I was." Hermione's hand tightened around his,

"And the funny thing is, when the gillyweed was wearing off, I almost drowned." At that point Hermione gave an almost inaudible squeak, "and I thought I was going to drown, but then I heard your voice. And you told me to go back to you, and I knew I couldn't leave you alone," Harry turned around, making Hermione face him, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead, they had stopped right in front of the doors of Hogwarts,

"I can't live without you, how I am supposed to live my afterlife without you?" he whispered, smiling at her. Hermione blushed under the setting sun, but still, inside, her heart grew big, loving the very man-yes a _man_- in front of her.

"Harry Potter you never cease to amaze me." Hermione finally said, her eyes twinkling. She leaned up, and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Ugh Potter. I thought you could do better!" a drawling voice said from the behind them. The oh so familiar drawl made Hermione and Harry break apart, rolling their eyes. The Ferret had come to play.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry said in a bored voice, seeing the same golden shade of hair, grey eyes and cold smile.

"So you made it this far, pure luck. You won't make it past the third task, no matter how lucky you are." Malfoy hissed dangerously. Harry sized him up,

"You're dirt of a father know something we don't?" Harry taunted. Hermione pulled on his arm,

"Let's go Harry. We don't need to cause more trouble." Hermione whispered, tugging Harry away. Harry backed off, ignoring the laugh,

"Yea, listen to your mudblood of a girlfriend, maybe you'll live long enough to shag her before you die." Malfoy sneered. In a blink of an eye, Harry's wand was out, and was a clear and direct target between Malfoy's eyes. Harry's normally kind green eyes were hard, and cold, his face tensed.

"Say that once again, I dare you." Harry said in an almost cold, calm voice, his body radiating strong waves power. Malfoy gulped, and Hermione knew, he could feel the waves of power that rolled off Harry like water.

"Potter, I mean _Harry_, I was j-joking, and you know that." Malfoy said weakly, staring at the wand in fear. Harry didn't look like he was listening; in fact he didn't even know the amount of magic that was rolling off him. The power was so intense, the sky seemed to be rumbling, and before they knew it, it was pouring rain, hard, cold rain fell hard on them.

"Harry!" Hermione tried again, pulling his wand arm down. Slowly but surely, Harry's arm dropped, yet his green eyes continued to be trained on the spoiled Malfoy. Seeing his chance, Malfoy made a run for it, slipping and sliding on mud, ran into the great hall.

"Harry we have to get inside." Hermione pulled him through the door Malfoy disappeared through, and soon they were in the warmth of the castle.

* * *

Ron watched from the clock tower as the two started to rub back into the castle. He had seen the whole thing, up to the point where Hermione had kissed Harry, then Harry defending her against Malfoy, then the rain. He wasn't down there when it happened, so he never felt the same power surge Hermione had. His blue eyes became narrowed, knowing the two would be entering the Gryffindor Common Room. Not wanting to face them yet, Ron walked himself to the Great Hall, trying to enjoy the delicious dinner that was made, trying to forget the best friends he didn't have.

* * *

Once they managed to get into the Gryffindor common room, avoiding all the questions Harry had to face about this second task, they changed into comfortable clothes, and together they headed towards the Astronomy Tower, in need of some privacy.

"Harry, thank you." Hermione said a while after they sat themselves down. Hermione sat between Harry's legs, leaning on his muscular chest, his arms wrapped around her loosely. Her head was tucked underneath Harry's chin, and he could smell the soft strawberry scented shampoo she used.

"For what?" he asked.

"Malfoy, what he said." Hermione replied, "That was sweet of you." She sighed comfortably. She didn't want to tell him about how powerful he had been back then; she needed to do some research, more background information before she could tell him.

"I'll protect you against a dragon if I had to." He said, enjoying their privacy. Hermione sighed happily, momentarily forgetting the fight they had with Ron. She felt asleep against Harry that night, because tomorrow, she'd have a mission to do.

* * *

Hermione was in her own little corner surrounded by books in the library. It was 9 o'clock in the morning, and thankfully she was the only one in here. Using the excuse of doing an extra curricular activity for Transfiguration, she managed to get McGonagall to sign a slip for her to use the Restricted Section of the library.

Now, books about dormant powers, how to reawaken them, and signs of a powerful wizard was scattered around her and on the table. Her brown eyes flew past the words, her right hand occupied with a quill, which was quickly scribbling down jot notes on a piece of parchment of signs and information she learned from the book.

She placed the fifth book that morning onto the pile to her left and stretched her arms. It was a Saturday, and she knew Harry was sleeping in, considering they didn't return to the tower until well past midnight. Besides, he had a tough day yesterday, and he deserved a sleep in, she also needed time to collect her information. Placing the books back carefully in their respective place in the Restricted Section, she stuffed her quill, ink bottle and carefully folded her notes and slipped it into her bag. Quickly and silently, slipped past the librarian and was out.

She speed walked towards the Fat Lady, and said the password, entering the common room, to find it, once again, empty. Sitting on a gold and red arm chair by the dimly lit fire, she carefully opened the note and read her own hand writing.

_**How to recognize powerful wizards:**_

_**they do not appear until more matured**_

_**will appear under stress or certain circumstances**_

_**feelings of threatening will make the power show**_

_**some wizards can be powerful enough to allow near by wizards or witches to feel the wave.**_

_**Powerful wizards are not limited to pure bloods**_

_Effects:_

_can cast powerful spells_

_spells hard to cast by normal wizards, will be easy (especially battling charms, hexes and spells)_

_will cause a change in weather_

_if powerful enough, put elements into play_

Hermione swallowed as she read the last point.

**If the certain wizard is indeed powerful, he/she may form a bond of communication to a loved one.**

-

-

-

A/N: Well another update. Thank you for being so patient.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, thanks for all your support. I know a pause wasn't want you guys expected but thank you for still believing in me. I'm 18 and I'm still a huge Harry Potter fanatic, ha-ha. Anyways, here you go, another chapter, it may be kind of short… depends.

**Note: I'm sorry I said I'd update soon but I keep delaying it, my week's been crappy, I had a fallout with my best friend and everything's a mess… thanks for being by me though.**

**Story: Forever**

**Author: ever.love.s2**

**Pairings: Harry/Hermione Ginny/Draco **(YEP you heard-err read- right! There is a Ginny/Draco, I don't know why but I love stories where Draco switches and becomes the good guys, all apart of my fantasy)

**Chapter Summary: Hermione heads to find Harry, all the while debating whether or not to tell him about the discoveries she made in the library. Draco is found wandering around the hall of Hogwarts alone, and finds someone unexpectedly. Ron deals with the fact he no longer has his two best friends and Harry and Hermione tries to reach out to Ron.**

- -- -…- -- -

_Chapter 5: Unexpected_

- -- -…- -- -

The empty halls of Hogwarts shone brightly with the bright sun that spilled through the windows of the ancient castle. It was still the middle of winter, but February was almost ending, and the snow was slowly starting to melt and flowers peeking out from the snow. Even as Hermione made her way through the empty halls, she couldn't help but stop for a second and just plainly admire the beauty of nature. Glancing down at the loose parchment that were now neatly tucked into a stack and underneath her arm, Hermione let lose a small frown,

"_Should I tell Harry?"_ thought Hermione, it was really unfair, to Harry, having to face such horrible things, it was as if his life wasn't hard enough, Harry was more of a man than any other men Hermione had ever known, _"Once he knows about these powers, he'll definitely want to work on them… he'll want to use them to protect others…"_ That was how he is, never himself first,

"Harry what am I going to do with you…" Hermione muttered,

"Well I've got some ideas, but I reckon you wouldn't want to hear them," an amused voice said behind her, Hermione gasped, spinning around and met a familiar pair of grassy green eyes,

"Harry," Hermione gasped, "Merlin you scared me, how long have you been here?" she asked, her heart beating faster than normal, Harry chuckled,

"Long enough to hear 'what am I going to do with you'," he teased making Hermione smile slightly. His eyes shifted to the papers in her hand which she nervously twitched, "Hermione for once in our life time we get a break and the first thing you do is go to the library?" Harry teased making her glare at him,

"O.W.L.s are barely half a year away, when the time comes you'll be thankful," Hermione said haughtily, "And besides, this isn't school work," she said,

"Spew again? 'Mione how many times have I told you?" Harry said,

"It's not _Spew_, its S.P.E.W, honestly Harry must you act like Ron-" Hermione stopped, the name of her best friend… ex-best friend slipping out of her mouth, her brown eyes looked up and they met Harry green ones, who looked almost as sad as the sad smile that appeared on his oh so stressed face. Walking to her, he took her free hand and they walked through the-thankfully- empty halls,

"It's alright, I saw him in the Common Room you know… before I came out here looking for you." Harry commented, making Hermione look up at him. "He still seemed… kind of mad."

"Oh Harry we honestly can't blame him," Hermione said softly, "Part of it is our fault, for lying to him I mean… he's your best friend, my second best friend in the entire world, we should've told him."

"Hermione, you knew he liked you," Harry said rather quietly, Hermione suppressed a smile,

"Yes I know, but wouldn't it have been better for all of us if he knew from us instead of finding out untimely? What if you had found out Ron and I was dating and we didn't tell you?" Hermione asked, seeing him flinch slightly, "Not that it'll happen, just theoretically of course."

"I'd be… mad, pretty ticked off to be honest," Harry admitted sheepishly, Hermione nodded,

"Exactly, sometimes we get so absorbed into something we neglect how Ron is feeling, Harry he's always been in the shadows of his brothers, and his best friend is famous, and then we start dating and we don't tell him, we leave him in the dark so many times and he hasn't complained, maybe this just took a toll on him." Hermione said, reaching the Fat Lady. Harry grinned, stopping and turning to look at her,

"Have I ever told you how considerate you are?" Harry grinned, Hermione smiled,

"No, but I'm sure you'll get to it," she laughed, Harry chuckled, and kissed her on her forehead,

"Hermione Granger I am one lucky bloke to have you in my life." He said softly, Hermione sighed,

"Not how I would word it… but I could say the same…" she said softly. Harry grinned and pulled back,

"Well now that we're both up and ready, why don't we go down to the Great Hall and catch what's left of lunch." Harry suggested, Hermione offered her own bright smile,

"I'd love to, just let me drop off the papers in my room and get changed," Hermione said, saying the password and the both of them entering the Common Room. Both of them stopped, seeing a familiar red head by the coach closest to the fire, the eyes of the Trios looked at one another, and Hermione's grip tightened slightly in Harry's hands.

Ron's blue eyes stared at the two Gryffindors who had just entered the room. His eyes swiftly drifted down to their linked hands and couldn't help but let a frown grace his face.

"Ron…" Hermione whispered softly, her heart ached for her best friends-almost her brother- to come back to them. This was the longest time they hadn't spoken to each other, even longer than their third year when they had a fall out when he thought Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers. Ron heard her call his name, but he did nothing,

"'Mione I'll meet you upstairs," Harry muttered every so softly, maintaining his eye contact with the younger Weasley. Hermione nodded silently, and let go of his hands, she started to wonder if she should tell him about what she had found out in her research, she feared for his safety… _both_ of their safety, but still she slipped quietly past Ron and disappeared up the stone stairs to the girls dormitories.

The two best friends stared at each other, no words passing through them, letting the silence do their speaking. Then Ron made a movement to move and Harry finally found his voice,

"Ron, wait." He called, stopping the red head. Ron looked at him, and saw the guilt washing up in Harry's green eyes, and for some reason Ron felt angered by that, angered that Harry was the one feeling guilty when really he had done nothing wrong, angered that it was Harry who was the 'bigger man', Harry who was the one who always forgave him.

"Yes?" Ron's comment came out in a colder snarl than he had intended for it, and Harry winced,

"Look… we're sorry that we didn't tell you, but it's been bloody mad here… we… I thought you'd understand." Harry managed to make out

"You knew I liked her," Ron muttered, part of his mind still jealous that Harry had everything,

"I know and I swear to Merlin I never ever planned to steal her from you, but… it just happened, and I can't explain it and I don't understand these feelings but at the same time they're… _she's_ the only thing that's keeping me sane right now!" Harry said, Ron's blue eyes flickered coldly at him,

"You always get everything," Ron mumbled, "Everyone knows you, you've got money, no one to compete with, everyone _wants_ to be you, you haven't got any brothers, you wouldn't know how hard it is to compete to get some sort of recognition, and in the only place I can get any you steal it away from me!" Ron yelled, Harry couldn't feel more terribly, no he couldn't feel more angered, Ron was insensitive, Harry knew that much, but this was over the limit, too far,

"Look if that's how you feel then I can't do a bloody thing about it!" Harry finally shouted, and stormed out the common room. Ron was left standing alone in the empty room, with the fire that was roaring slowly coming down to an empty crate. Behind him was a shuffle and when he turned around, he saw Hermione standing there, her brown eyes slightly wide and teary.

"You heard everything?" Ron muttered, Hermione nodded silently, "Well all the better, I don't give a damn!" Hermione's brown eyes sparked in anger, storming over, she slapped him as hard as she had slapped Malfoy in their third year,

"Ronald Weasley you bloody git!" Hermione cried angrily, Ron looked beyond shock, his hand covering the burning red mark on his cheek,

"What the hell was that for!" he bellowed, Hermione glared back at him with angry eyes,

"Ron you are the most insensitive, uncaring _jerk_ I have ever met!" she cried, "Do you even _know_ what you just said to Harry just now?" she cried, Ron stared back defiantly,

"I gave him a piece of my mind that's what, and I don't take it back, that's exactly how I feel." Ron countered,

"Ron do you have any idea how much more fortunate you are than Harry ever will be?" Hermione whispered hoarsely,

"What? Be poorer than he is, less famous, less powerful?" Ron snarled, Hermione fought the temptation to slap him again,

"To be loved!" she screamed stopping him cold, "You said every single materialistic thing every known to man and you forget the most important thing, love! Ron do you realize _how_ Harry got to how he is in the first place, do you know how much he wished none of this has happened? He got famous because his parents were _murdered_; he's famous because he didn't _die_! He'll never feel the competition of a younger sibling because he never will have any! He's never felt the love of a parent because they're _dead_ Ronald! You have your mother, your father and so many brothers and sisters who will catch you when you fall, who does Harry have? His bloody relatives who won't even give a _damn_ if Harry dies ten times over!" Streams of tears now fell from her brown eyes, "Hogwarts is the only home Harry has ever had… only _real_ home, and we're the only real family he will ever get… he expected us… _both_ of us to accept him as Harry, not Harry Potter the boy who live… If I can be there for him in any way I can then I will because I _love_ him Ronald, I love him to death and if he's going to the depths of hell I'll follow him becauseI love him!" Hermione cried, Ron stuttered, for once he was lost for words,

"Ronald… everything you've ever wanted comes at a price, and if Harry had a choice, I know he would give all his money away, gives his fame just to have one _quarter_ of what you've had for your entire life." Hermione said quietly before walking out, finding her boyfriend. They left Ron standing in the Common Room alone once again, feeling worse than the loud thunder that had suddenly appeared outside the castle.

- -- -…- -- -

Less than a minute after Harry at stormed out of the room away from Ron, he had stopped at the corner, his quick adrenaline that sent him running gone as fast as it had came. Now he was just out of breath and his heart was racing sending blood pounding in his ear. He knew walking out on Ron wasn't the smartest idea, not when he had wanted to patch things up, but sometimes, he couldn't stand Ron, he couldn't stand his immature views of the world around him.

"Harry?" Hermione came up behind him, spinning around, his heart twinge seeing her puffy red eyes.

"Mione… what's wrong?" he asked softly, he drew her into a hug and he could feel her warm tears against his clothes,

"I'm crying you stupid git what do you think I'm doing?" Hermione's muffled voice said angrily, her face nested against his warm chest,

"Yes I know you're crying, but why are you crying? You're too beautiful and Merlin knows you're to smart and calm to cry," Harry grinned softly, Hermione hiccupped,

"I'm crying for you because you can't," she said softly. Harry pulled her apart and smiled softly down at her,

"Well, don't do that ever again," he said softly, and kissed her softly on top of her bushy curls, wrapping his arms around her once again.

-

-

Dumbledore stared out the round window of his office, his pale blue eyes gazing over the sky blue clouds that became visible after the suddenly angry grey clouds had disappeared as fast as they had suddenly appeared. Inside he knew he was continuing to make an old man's mistake, but he could not bare himself to tell him the truth… just yet. The age was too young, his mind too tired and still scarred from his past… he will need time.

"Albus?" McGonagall came from outside and into his office, seeing the old wizard staring out the stone castle "Is it time?" Dumbledore sighed,

"I am afraid… Minerva that the time has arrived sooner than any of us has expected…" Dumbledore sighed in a tired manner, drawing his gaze away from the sky, "The spark has been ignited sooner than his young body can handle… and she has begun to see the signs." Dumbledore said setting down onto his table. Reaching out for a spare bit of parchment, he scribbled something before coaxing Fawkes the Phoenix onto his shoulder. Attaching the small roll onto the magnificent bird's leg, he let out a gentle burst of song before bursting into a flurry of orange flames, disappearing.

-

-

Ginny strode as fast as her legs allowed her. She had been outside the Fat Lady portrait when she heard the screaming and yelling, inside she felt anger brewing at his brother for saying such things at Harry. She hit herself behind one of the metal armours as moments later, Harry came rushing out, his green eyes angered. Ginny had made a movement to follow him, perhaps comfort him even, but then he heard more yelling inside and recognized Hermione's voice as well. She heard the cries, the sobs Hermione made as she yelled some sense into that brothers of hers, and like Harry, Hermione had came dashing out as well.

Currently ticked off at her insensitive git of a brother, Ginny immediately followed her bushy haired friend, maybe then she'd be able to find Harry and comfort in with a few well chosen 'words' about her brother of her own. It didn't take long for her to find him, because she heard two very familiar voices in a corner near the corridor. She knew eavesdropping was wrong, but she still crept along the wall, catching their conversations. Leaning out, her heart dropped, shattered when Harry gently kissed Hermione on her head, uttering soothing words. She didn't stay long as she ran off to the other side, her fiery red hair following behind her.

Ginny had had a crush on Harry as long as she had ever remembered, ever since Ron had came home from his first year of Hogwarts and told her of their adventures… no it was before than, the first time she had seen the Hogwarts Express, and Fred and George had came running out saying that the dark haired boy that asked for directors was the famous Boy who live. Then came her first year… and she, Ginny Weasley was rescued by none other then Harry Potter himself! If that didn't boost Ginny to like him more than she didn't know what would.

Then she had came to know him more than just the Boy who live, she came to know him as Harry, Harry Potter the young wizard orphan new to the wizarding world. By now Ginny knew it was useless to fight her growing fondness for the dark haired, grassy eyed boy. But as much as she fought, he didn't notice her, it was Cho Chang at first and now… it was her best friend. She fought angry tears back from her eyes, and not watching where she was headed, she bumped into someone and fell onto the cold stone floor.

"Oh Sorry-" she looked and her heart fell even more, seeing a familiar pair of cold grey eyes looking back at her underneath golden bangs. Draco Malfoy towered over her, with a smirk on his face,

"Back in the ground where you belong eh Weasley?" Draco snarled, watching her pull herself up, her blazing brown eyes glaring back at him.

"Bug off Malfoy," Ginny mumbled, trying to get past him, but he blocked her way and she glared at him, "Where are your flunkies? Bet they're stuffing their faces." Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes,

"I don't need those two all the time, unlike your family, my family knows how to fight," Draco said in a cold and proud voice, Ginny rolled her eyes,

"Right, fight with dark arts," Ginny mumbled, "Bugger off, I'm not in the mood for you today."

"Oh what, Scar head got you down? About time that useless piece of dragon dung," Draco laughed coldly, Ginny glared at him,

"Move out of my way," Ginny said coolly, Draco narrowed his eyes on her, she looked different… her cheeks were red and her flaring red hair was pulled into a high pony tail, her lips- wait a minute where did that come from? Shaking his head Draco scoffed,

"You think I will listen to the likes of _you_?" Draco laughed, his eyes widened when her wand was out and pointing directly at his throat, his eyes bearing no warmness and her face with no expression,

"I am tired of your useless bloody wining you spoiled brat, I'm tired of you pushing me around and tired of you making fun of my family! My family is poor but they are honourable, unlike yours." Ginny snarled coldly, Draco was frozen in place as Ginny made her way around him, her wand still trained on his frozen form,

"Who's the piece of dung now?" she said coolly, before dropping her wand and disappearing around the corner. Draco froze, what was that? How could he, Draco Malfoy, heir of the wizarding world's most powerful family, be threatened by the likes of… of _her?_ It wasn't that that caused a stirring feeling within her, but it was the feeling of his cold heart pull when he first saw tears falling from her brown eyes.

- -- -…- -- -

**A/N: A little power here, fluff there, tells me what you think of Draco and Ginny's relationship, I love their pairings I don't know why. Until then, peace!**


End file.
